NCAA women's volleyball: Coach Jeff Nelson happy with young New Mexico's start to the season

Coach Jeff Nelson liked most of what he saw on the University of New Mexico's first road trip. This week, he expects a bit more.

The Lobos opened the season last week by winning two of three matches at Iowa State's Cyclone Invitational. UNM earned 3-0 sweeps over Nebraska Omaha and Kent State before dropping a 3-0 match to host Iowa State.

Throw out the final set against Iowa State, a 25-10 romp, and Nelson was satisfied with his young team's start.

"We played pretty well in eight sets out of nine," Nelson said. "We came unraveled a bit in set three against Iowa State, but other than that we battled. We extended plays, got points when we needed them and I thought our chemistry was pretty good."

UNM's opening road test continues this weekend at UTEP's Glory Road Invitational. The Lobos will take on Youngstown State (4-0) and UTEP (0-2) Friday at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively, then face North Dakota (4-1) at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

There are no big-name opponents like Iowa State in this week's field, but Nelson expects a battle. North Dakota, an NCAA tournament qualifier last season, opened the season by sweeping through the Ole Miss Rebel Invitational. The Fighting Hawks' lone loss came at Georgia Tech.

UNM got strong performances from several players at Iowa State, including libero Ashley Kelsey and middle blocker Victoria Spragg, who were named to the all-tournament team. Kelsey racked up 45 digs in the Lobos' three matches, while Spragg had 21 kills, six blocks and posted a team-best .385 hitting percentage.

Nelson also liked what he saw from several young players, including outside hitters Lauren Twitty and Hailey Rubino.